We will. We Will, ROCKIES you!

You have to forgive my punny snides. Please don't stop reading my posts. Hahaha. 

Anyway, desperate pleas aside, another mountain has been asking for a piece of me and I am much honored to answer its call so off I went to Mount Maculot with Clemenz (who is starting to become my hiking buddy) and another close friend, Dena, who came all the way to Cebu for this (and to attend a conference, too)!

Mount Maculot is located at Cuenca, Batangas and is just a few hours from Manila so it's another respectable dayhike for people who can't get more than a day's off from their busy schedule. Aside from its summit at 930 MASL, Maculot offers a known spot, like Pico de Loro as to Mount Palay-Palay, and it is the Rockies at 706 MASL. For the more seasoned adventure-seekers, you can take the traverse route where you can visit the summit, the Rockies, and a Grotto which has stations of the cross that end with the trail. But for us, we opted to just enjoy the view from the Rockies and saved the traverse trail for future hikes.

The Beauty Queen from the Queen City of the South gracing the Rockies

From Buendia where bus terminals abound, you can just take a Lemery-bound bus for 150 pesos and drop by the Poblacion near the highway. But since we love to sleep, we got an hour off our schedule and just rode a Lipa-bound bus for 99 pesos. Ask the conductor to drop you off near the Lipa/Tambo exit and cross the road to ride a jeepney bound to Cuenca for 20 pesos.

Ride a tricycle and tell you're going to hike the mountain. For 15 pesos, it will drop you by the Barangay Outpost where you register in their logbook for 10 pesos, surrender an ID which you will get back on your way back, and get a mandatory guide. From the Outpost, the tricycle driver will drive you up until the jump-off point where a marker signifies the start of the trek.

Dem jeje hikers. Again. This time with Dena!

The hike is quite an easy climb with a bit of the concrete road at the start of the trail. However, you can feel the difficulty starting when you start with the slopes. Good thing, there are rest stations after almost every challenging slope. One of them even has a buko juice stall where you can buy the refreshing drink while enjoying a wonderful view of the Taal Lake.

One of the many rest stops along the way
(c) Kuya Guide using Clemenzar's phone

Dat lake.

Near the start of the trail and just after the 'easy hiking' starts is a rocky path which used to be, according to our guide, a river. However, the rapid waters have eroded the soil down to its rocky bottom. This is a landmark for downhill hikers signifying that they are near the jump-off point.

Rocky river bottom

For those having problems with balance, it would be best to bring a hiking stick if you're planning to conquer Maculot soon. Aside from the steep slopes, some parts of the trail have loose stones that can be a problem when you're downhill as this may cause you to rollerblade downwards and to fall flat on your butt (a scenario my dear friend has been a poor victim for several times). So better strap on good hiking shoes and hold on to plant roots so you can balance yourself on these parts.

View of Taal Lake from the campsite

The hike to the campsite is about 2-3 hours and from here, you have two options: a short trail on the left that will lead you to the Rockies in a few minutes and a trail on the right that will lead you to the summit and continues to the traverse trail to visit the Grotto. There's another store here that sells a more varied choices of drinks and food and the view of Taal Lake is more superb from the hike below.


Since we're here for the Rockies, we took the left trail and a few minutes of ascent and descent along the trail, we're there! The Rockies stood up to its name: it is rocky. A quick climb among the big rocks will take you on the top of it and you're in for some sweet treat: A panoramic view of the Taal Lake and, of course, its gem - the Taal Volcano.

Grassy with a chance of Rocky

Yep, definitely grassy up there.
We asked our guide to pose by the edge where he said it would be
a good place to take a picture. He always delivers.

You just gotta have balls and will of steel to
hold your position while winds batter you and threaten
to outbalance you.

Once on the top, you just feel a sense of fulfillment for being able to witness such a grand scene before you. Grander still are the views at the edges where you have to leave your fear of heights (I did. For a few seconds.) to enjoy the green plains of Batangas below. These rocky outcrops allow just a foot so be careful which one to rest on these outcrops. Nothing good comes without a risk, they say, so you are rewarded with wonderful views at these edges (I have to say it again because the view is really majestic from these spots).

The descent, as always, takes a shorter period of time. Just be careful of the loose stones because they prove to be a challenge when you're on your way down. Before you know it, the 'To Mt. Maculot' marker is within view and our guide fetch us a tricycle which took us back to the highway with a stop by the barangay outpost to retrieve our IDs. We paid the guide 500 pesos before we parted ways and the tricycle back to Cuenca costed 20 pesos per person. 

Before heading back, we decided to have our lunch at a carinderia which offered meals as low as 40 pesos (30 pesos for the viand and 10 pesos for the rice) and of course, water which we exploited by refilling our water bottles. After having a hearty meal of pinais na dilis (a local delicacy made of anchovies cooked in a tulingan way), we went back to Lipa/Tambo exit by way of jeepney for 20 pesos and waited for a bus bound to Buendia for 99 pesos. 

For newbie hikers like us, Maculot is one of the good hikes that will leave you accomplished because of its relatively easy climb. Easier and more satisfying still is the mountain's trail leading to the Rockies because of the beautiful views from it despite being a few hundred meters lower than the summit. I encourage people who want to be in touch with their hikers' side to choose Maculot as their first hike so they would continue to build their love and appreciation for the discipline. And hey, it's just a few hours from the Metro; a day's work-off is more than enough to scale this beauty and get back to your bed, dreaming about your next mountain hiking experience.

P. S. Look at the beautiful views from the Rockies! Don't you want to have a picture of you taken up there, too? :)

P.P.S. Again, check out Pinoy Mountaineer's take on Maculot for more hiking tips and itineraries.


Until the next trip!

- Paulo 

I think I'll make it a thing to do an Oble pose every time I hike. Because honor and excellence
should be brought wherever you go. But I think Dena does it better (see below), right?